Disgraced premiered in January 2012 at Chicago’s American Theatre Company before playing a fall run at at the Claire Tow Theater as part of Lincoln Center Theater's new works initiative, LCT3. Kimberly Senior, who staged the Chicago premiere of the play, also directed Off-Broadway. It had its London premiere last spring at the Bush Theatre.
Senior returned to stage the Broadway production, which officially opened Oct. 23, 2014, following previews that began Sept. 27 at the Lyceum Theatre.
The production played 149 performances and 27 previews. A national tour is planned to begin in November 2015.
Read reviews of the production here. The cast includes original London cast member Hari Dhillon and original LCT3 cast member Karen Pittman, alongside Gretchen Mol (The Shape of Things, "Boardwalk Empire"), Josh Radnor ("How I Met Your Mother," The Graduate) and London cast member Danny Ashok.
Read Playbill.com's interview with Dhillon here.
According to producers, "Disgraced is the story of a successful Muslim-American lawyer and his wife – an artist influenced by Islamic imagery – enjoying their comfortable and successful life on New York’s Upper East Side. When a co-worker and her husband come to dinner, what begins as polite table conversation explodes, leaving everyone’s relationships and beliefs about race and identity in shards."
The Broadway creative team includes John Lee Beatty (set), Jennifer Von Mayrhauser (costumes), Ken Posner (lighting) and Jill DuBoff (sound).
Akhtar's playwriting credits also include The Invisible Hand, which premiered at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and made its New York debut this fall at New York Theater Workshop. "American Dervish," his first novel, was released in 22 languages worldwide. He co-wrote and starred in "The War Within" (Magnolia Pictures), released internationally and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. As an actor, he starred as Neel Kashkari in HBO's adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin's "Too Big to Fail."
Read Playbill's interview with Akhtar here.
The Broadway run was produced by The Araca Group and Lincoln Center Theater.
The Lyceum Theatre is located at 149 West 45th Street. Visit disgracedonbroadway.com for more information.
